`VISITING THE LINCOLNS' IN BATAVIA

Lawrence Bommer. Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

It's not surprising in our Land of Lincoln that a historical-minded enterprise -- With Lincoln Productions -- should present the president (and his first lady) in public appearances and tailor-made plays.

On Sunday you can meet our greatest leader as Lincoln actor Michael Krebs, joined by DeAnn Heck as Mary Todd, present director James Clark's play "Visiting the Lincolns," at the Lincoln Inn, a dinner theater in Batavia that specializes in Lincolniana.

Krebs was recently appointed the official Lincoln to preside at all functions of the Chicago Historical Society's exhibition, "The Last Best Hope on Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America," which opens next week.

It's a fitting honor for this dedicated impersonator of the 16th president, a gaunt man whose last Lincoln gig was as a warm-up speaker for President Clinton's Jan. 10 address at Carl Sandburg College.

Freeport-born and, like Lincoln, 6-foot-4, Krebs also portrayed Lincoln in a 1994 C-Span live broadcast re-enactment of a Lincoln-Douglas debate, held at Knox College in Galesburg.

Based on Lincoln's writings and sayings, "Visiting Mr. Lincoln" takes place on April 14, 1865, the last day of Lincoln's life, as he entertains a group of guests. For Krebs it sums up a great man: "We get to depict a wide-ranging Lincoln. He was reportedly jubilant that the war was over and was sharing stories full force. But, equally characteristically, he could also sink into melancholy."

Krebs sees Clark's play as an inspiration to achieve greatness despite duress: "We're stripping away the myth and leaving the man standing plainly, an ordinary soul who accomplished great things under extraordinary circumstances."